Messing around the kitchen

This is one of my go-to cake recipes when I need to whip up something nice and quick for dessert. Or for tea-time snack. Or after a rough day at work and I just needed to take the edge off. It uses ingredients that are easily available at the local supermarket. For the topping,...

I know I shouldn’t be baking with my tennis elbow. But how can I resist when I have these shiny, new madeleine pans. K & I were just pottering around Daiso when we came across these cute little pans. I’ve been hunting for madeleine pans for the longest time and to finally spot...

Vanilla beans are quite an extravagance where I live. I once spotted a shriveled bean going for RM30. Where a simple meal cost about RM5, you would understand where I’m coming from. Paul, an avid baker came to visit and brought me a bottle of Madagascar vanilla bean paste. What a thoughtful gift!...

My first attempt at making ciabatta was quite a messy affair. I thought I followed the recipe to a t, and for some reason which I still haven’t figured out, the dough was way too wet to be shaped by hand. And by wet, I mean almost pouring consistency. Not one to give up...

I thought this would be fun to make. And it’s pretty easy too. In fact, I’ve bookmarked this recipe ever since I got hold of the Baked cookbook. The combination of root beer and chocolate is simply genius and really addictive. The recipe calls for over 2 cups of the root beer. Matt Lewis...

On days when I just want a quick snack and have otak-otak sitting around, which is quite often, this will be my quick fix. Fortunately, Mum will always bring some back from her regular visits to Muar. This is super easy, so no need for a recipe here. Just take a slice of bread and line...

I was at the farmers’ market the other day and ended up with two pomegranates. Don’t ask me why, I’m just prone to buying the unexpected every now and then. What do you do when you’ve two pomegranates sitting in the fridge? Not wanting to waste, I googled and found this brilliantly easy...

I have a confession to make. I love bread. I love eating it and I love making it. For me, there is nothing more comforting than the smell of fresh baked loaves. If you eat bread quite a fair bit, it is worth investing in a bread...

You must be wondering why go through the trouble to make pasta when it is so easy to pick it up from the store. Somehow, fresh-made pasta has this wonderful texture that is just not attainable with dried ones. Once you’ve tried the fresh-made ones, you would not want to go back to...

Fancy some home-made preserves to go with your morning toast? It’s easier than you think. I had a go at jam-making last weekend. And the results were so rewarding I wondered why I’ve been settling for store-bought preserves all this while. Go ahead, give it a try. You would be glad you did. Easy...